ANKARA, Turkey – A court in eastern Turkey has sentenced two former military officers to life terms in prison, in the first convictions over the failed military coup in July.
The state-run Anadolu Agency said that the court in Erzurum on Thursday convicted ex-Col. Murat Kocak and ex-Maj. Murat Yilmaz of attempting to abolish Turkey's "constitutional order."
The two were on duty at Erzurum's gendarmerie command at the time of the botched July 15 coup, which the government says was orchestrated by a network of followers of U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen. The cleric denies involvement.
The two defendants have rejected the accusation.
Turkey declared a state of emergency after the coup attempt and engaged in an unprecedented crackdown on Gulen's movement, arresting 41,000 people and purging more than 100,000 from government jobs.
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